Henkel partners with Waste Free Oceans to fight marine plastic litter

The German consumer goods player has global operations across its three core business units of Beauty Care, Laundry & Home Care and Adhesive Technologies.

It has announced a new partnership with Waste Free Oceans to remove plastic waste from oceans and rivers, and transform it into over a million bottles used for its Lovables laundry brand.

“Together, the partners aim to remove enough plastic from rivers, lakes, seas and oceans to produce 100 metric tons of usable recycled material each year​,” they said in a joint statement,

Details of the partnership: Danube and Mediterranean​

The partnership between Henkel and Waste Free Oceans will begin by collecting plastic waste from the Danube River in spring 2018.

Activities will target locations ranging from Bulgaria through to Hungary and Romania that were selected based on a detailed analysis of the way the currents and geography of the river cause plastic to accumulate at certain points.

Volunteers will gather plastic waste from the river banks and beaches, while teams of fishermen will trawl the river using a special device that removes floating plastic waste from the water.

The trawlers are able to collect between two and eight metric tons of marine litter on each journey. The collections along the Danube will be followed by activities at several locations in the Mediterranean Sea during the summer.

Sustainable packaging commitment​

Henkel’s commitment to sustainable packaging follows three focus principles: Less packaging and waste, better packaging, and enabling a circular economy.

In 2017, Henkel says it used recycled plastic in the packaging for more than 1.2 billion detergent, household cleaning and beauty care products globally.

This new partnership with Waste Free Oceans builds on the company’s existing activities related to sustainable packaging and recycling, such as its partnership with the social enterprise Plastic Bank.

Sustainability, particularly when it comes to packaging, has become a major point of focus for the beauty and personal care industry of late.